1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical fiber which maximizes residual mechanical stresses and an optical fiber grating fabrication method using the optical fiber, and in particular, to an optical fiber with mechanical stresses maximized to write optical fiber gratings therein and an optical fiber grating fabrication method using the optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical signal filter plays a significant role in improving the performance of an optical communication system. Filters having optical fiber gratings have recently attracted much interest since they can be fabricated in optical fibers and no other external controlling devices are needed. Optical fiber grating filters find wide application in optical communications and optical sensors due to the advantages of low loss and low cost. Optical fiber gratings are largely categorized into Bragg gratings (reflective or short-period gratings) and long-period gratings (transmission gratings) according to their periods of refractive index changes in an optical fiber core.
The long-period fiber gratings are based on the principle that a great change in a refractive index occurs when irradiating an optical fiber with a UV (UltraViolet) laser beam. An amplitude mask is usually used in writing gratings in an optical fiber core and the photosensitivity of the optical fiber can be increased by loading the optical fiber with H2. A conventional long-period optical fiber is fabricated in an optical fiber having a germanium-doped core. Since gratings are written utilizing the photosensitiveness of the optical fiber, they cannot be formed in a non-photosensitive optical fiber by the conventional technology. Another problem is that hydrogen treatment is required to increase the photosensitiveness of an optical fiber.
Meanwhile, residual stresses has been used instead of photosensitivity. Residual stresses are divided into thermal stress and mechanical stress. The former is caused by the mismatch in the coefficients of expansion coefficients between layers, while the latter is produced by different viscosities between the layers, closely related with tensile force. The thermal stress is not proportional to tensile force and its occurrences are negligible. Thus, the mechanical stress is the dominant residual stress. To maximize the mechanical stress, a good choice of doping materials for a core and a cladding is very important because the viscosities of the core and cladding vary with doping materials.
Examples of optical fiber compositions and optical fiber fabrication methods of the contemporary art are given in the following U.S. Patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,129, to Matsumura et al., entitled OPTICAL FIBER AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME, describes an optical fiber including a jacketing layer, a cladding layer containing B2O3 as a dopant, and a core layer having a refractive index higher than the cladding layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,517, to Olshansky, entitled OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE HAVING OPTIMAL INDEX PROFILE FOR MULTICOMPONENT NONLINEAR GLASS, describes an optical fiber having a multimode core which has silica doped with GeO2 at the center and silica doped with B2O3 away from the center.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,125, to Lazay et al., entitled LOW DISPERSION SINGLE MODE FIBER, describes an optical fiber with germanium doped in the core and fluorine doped in the cladding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,345, to Usui et al., entitled METHOD OF PRODUCING OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE, describes an optical fiber having a cladding made of B2O3-silica glass.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,901, to MacChesney et al., entitled DOPED OPTICAL FIBER, describes an optical fiber having a silica core doped with P2O5, and a cladding which maybe pure or doped silica.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,276, to Gilliland, entitled FORMING OPTICAL FIBER HAVING ABRUPT INDEX CHANGE, discusses optical fibers having fluorine or boron-doped silica claddings, with germanium present in the core.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,502, to Byron, entitled BRAGG GRATINGS IN WAVEGUIDES, describes a method of generating a Bragg reflective grating in a photosensitive optical waveguide using a fringe pattern of electromagnetic radiation, and additionally employing heating by a CO2 laser in the region where the grating is being formed. This heating is to enhance the photosensitivity of the fiber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,222, to Dong et al., entitled OPTICAL FIBRE AND OPTICAL FIBRE GRATING, describes an optical fiber having a germanium-doped core and a boron-doped cladding. The patent further discusses a Bragg grating made in the fiber.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved optical fiber for fabrication of optical fiber gratings.
Another object of the invention is to provide an optical fiber with enhanced mechanical stress.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an optical fiber for fabrication of an optical fiber grating which does not require hydrogen treatment before writing a grating.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved method for fabricating an optical fiber grating.
These and other objects are achieved by providing an optical fiber for maximizing residual mechanical stress and an optical fiber grating fabricating method using an optical fiber in which a core or a cladding is doped with a residual mechanical stress maximizing material. The optical fiber includes a core containing silica, for propagating light, and a cladding containing boron-doped silica, surrounding the core. According to another aspect of the present invention, the optical fiber includes a core formed of phosphorous-doped silica and a cladding formed of silica, surrounding the core.
In the optical fiber grating fabricating method, an optical fiber preform is formed to include a cladding formed of boron-doped silica and a core formed of silica, an optical fiber is drawn from the preform by applying a predetermined tensile force to the preform, and gratings are formed in the optical fiber by annealing predetermined periodical portions of the drawn optical fiber and thus relieving residual stresses of the optical fiber.